A real estate agent was found guilty of importing opium and will be deported after serving a seven-year prison term, according to a local media report.
A jury found 34-year-old Nitish Verma guilty of one count of importing opium, the Brampton Guardian reported.
As per the report, Verma was arrested on August 4, 2019, after security personnel at Pearson International Airport found 13.7 kilograms of opium inside boxes of sweets, when he returned from India.
At the trial Verma said that he didn’t know the boxes of sweets, which he was bringing back at the request of a good friend in Canada, contained illegal drugs, the Brampton Guardian report stated. His lawyer says that will challenge the verdict.
The judge stated in her judgment there was no evidence that Verma had connections with drug traffickers and several friends and family wrote letters of support for Verma to be submitted during the sentencing, according to the news report. She recounted how Verma told the courts he went on the trip to India to help his sister find a husband and before returning, met up with someone at the airport in Delhi to bring back boxes of treats, the report added.
